Mahavira Nirvana Diwas marks the liberation (moksha) of the twenty fourth Tirthankara, Mahavira, traditionally dated to the same night as the Hindu festival of Diwali and celebrated by Jains with the lighting of lamps, a distinctly Jain reading of the shared calendar date that commemorates Mahavira's final liberation from the cycle of rebirth rather than the Hindu narratives associated with the same night. It is treated in Jain studies as a genuinely festive, celebratory occasion distinct from the penitential observances of the Jain calendar such as Paryushana.
Facts
Reckoning
Calendar SystemHindu lunisolar (panchanga) 1 Its own record ties its date directly to "the same night as the Hindu festival of Diwali." Date RuleThe same night as the Hindu festival of Diwali (Kartika Amavasya), marking Mahavira's liberation. 1 Fixed or MovableFixed date in its own calendar 1 Observance
Observance Type Observance TypeCommemoration of a person or event 1 Status
Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 1 Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source The JainsPaul Dundas
Follows Calendar
Related To
Sources
1. The Jains
Paul Dundas, Routledge, 2002- on Mahavira's nirvana and its calendar observance
- Belongs to Tradition: Jainism
View the Source Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations
J. Gordon Melton (editor), ABC-CLIO, 2011on Jain festival practiceView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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